Container made of paper, cardboard or the like



g- 1953 G. MEYER-JAGENBERG 2,847,151

CONTAINER MADE OF PAPER, C'ARDBOARD OR THE LIKE Filed Jan. 25, 1955Patented Aug. 12, 195

CONTAINER MADE OF PAPER, CARDBOARD OR THE LH(E GiintherMeyer-'Jagenberg, Dusseldorf-Gutenberg, 'Germany, assignor toJagenberg-Werke AktL-Ges., Dusseldorf, Germany The present inventionrelates broadly to the art of containers.

More particularly this invention relates to a liquid tight container ofpaper, cardboard or the like, carton forming. material.

Still more particularly the invention relates to a multisided containermade of suitable carton forming material which is adapted to be filledwith dry, pasty or liquid materials, and which container includes atubular body portion and an inserted end closure provided at its edgeswith, flanges which will be erected when the closure membar is insertedin the open end of the container body to bear against the inner surfaceof the container body at its edges and to be folded down about theexternal edges of the body so as to enclose the edges in a U-shapedformation and to be subsequently compressed to a tight closure about theedges.

.In. order to meet the high demands as regards sealing and thus thetightness of such containers, particularly when they are to be filledwith liquids, special precautions as regards design, choice of materialsand methods of manufacture must be taken. To meet these demands asregards liquid tightness, there has been provided on the inner face ofthe seal or end closure a foil layer whose sole function is to bringabout a perfect and tight seal particularly in the corners, and whichfurther protects theend closure against permeation by the materialwithin the container. The seal or end closure itself thus serves toreinforce the cross section of the container and also to protect thesensitive foil from external influences. The advantages and details ofembodying a foil layer with the end closure is more fully disclosed inprior filed application. Serial No. 419,441 filed March .29, 1954, nowPatent No. 2,828,061, in the name of Hans Zerlin and assigned to theassignee of the present invention.

Although the subject matter of the said prior filed application ensuresa liquid tight container, it does give rise to certain problems inconnection with an easy and unhindered opening of such a container sinceit is desirable under certain instances to provide for a tight resealingof such a container after a discharge of part of the contents thereof.

Accordingly, the present invention has for a primary object to provide acontainer with a resealable end closure and in which the end closure perse is sealed from the container contents.

In the container art there are many instances of tearup seals forcontainers but the same are not suitable for use with the type ofcontainer with which this invention is concerned. The preparation of adischarge aperture in a c-ontainer by forming grooved or score lines inthe body and adhesively connecting the tear-up flap with the container.wall do not always ensure opening of the container along the linesprovided and hence an elfective resealing is not possible.

Thus the present invention has for an object to provide a container witha sealed end closure means which incorporates a removable andreplaceable closure flap operable to facilitate resealing in anexpeditious manner and which ensures the proper opening of the end ofthe container.

It is .a further object of this invention to eliminate the defects ofthe prior art by providing an end closure for a container with adischarge aperture and covering the inner surface of the end closure andthus the aperture withl-a foil liner which protects the seal that is theclosure per se against damage occasioned by contact with the contents ofthe container and on which container the discharge aperture in the endclosure is closed by a releasableflap held onto the top of the endclosure at least in the zone of the aperture thereth-rough by clampingaction. Thus the invention avoids the provision of perforation orgrooved or score lines which interfere with the openingof a containerand further eliminates any glue joints adjacent the portion of the endclosure that is to be opened, making it possible after lifting up theflap, held in closed position by clamping action, to expose thedischarge aperture punched through the end closure part and also theunderlying relatively thin foil under this aperture which then can bereadily pierced so that the contents may be discharged.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a container withan inserted end closure having an underlying. foil .seal layer and anaperture through the closure proper with :a closure flap provided withan extension that serves as a grip for use in exposing the dischargeopening and which closure flap is articulated on a score line remotefrom the opening with the balance of the closure flap being adhered bygluing to the top of the container end closure. In order toprovide theclamp"- ing effect that is the gripping actionbetween the inner sidewalls of the container closure and the closure flap to facilitate arelatively tight resealing the sides of the closure flap are cut so thatthe width thereof is somewhat greater than the space between thetwoopposite side walls of the container whereby the closure flap has to beforced intoengagement with the top of the container and is frictionallyheld in place 'by the clamping action exerted by the side wall portionsof the inserted container closure.

In addition to the fact. that the extension of the flap serves :to'facilitate opening, theishap'e thereof has a further purpose ofenclosing and covering the end wall and lip of the inserted closure thatis adjacent the discharge opening so as to protect against externaldamages and maintain these surfaces sterile prior to and betweendischarges of material from the container.

Further and more particular objects will be apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Figure 1 is an exploded view illustrating the container and the variouscomponents of the end closure prior to assembly and insertion into thecontainer.

Figure 2 illustrates a completed container in closed condition.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view of the top portion of the containerillustrating the closure flap in raised condition prior to discharge ofthe contents.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view on an enlargedscale illustrating the top portion of a container in closed condition.

As indicated in Figure l, the container is formed by a shell 1 whichinitially is flat and then is erected to tubular formation. The endclosure comprises the blank portion 2 including peripheral flanges 4provided with creased or imposed grooves or score lines 3 whichconstitute fold lines. The blank portion 2 is further provided with adischarge aperture 13 that is punched therethrough adjacent one of thenarrow ends of the blank 3 but inwardly of the innermost fold line atthat end. The closure blank 2 is inserted in the open upper end of thecontainer after being covered by a moisture proof foil layer 5 havingcorner portions that are not completely cut away as set forth in thesaid prior filed application Serial No. 419,441, now Patent No. ,8 80that with the insertion of the end closure blank into the upper end ofthe container shell and the folding down of the flanges 4 over the upperedge of the shell an inserted closure is formed as referred to in thatsaid application and in which the outermost flange 4 overlies theexterior of the top of each wall of the container shell. To ensure atight bond between the foil and the adjacent surfaces of the containershell and the bottom of the foil and the undersurface end closure 2, thefoil is coated on both sides with a binder which becomes adhesive underthe action of heat and pressure or the foil is made of a thermoplasticmaterial. Thus the flanges 4 of the closure blank and the underlyingportions of the foil are adhered to the inner and outer surfaces of thetop of the container shell 1 and enclose the rim of the container.

On the top of the end closure 2 there is fastened a flap denotedgenerally at 6. This flap 6 has a width somewhat larger than the area ofthe closure blank 2 that is comprised between the innermost of thegroove lines denoted at 3. The flap 6 is divided by a groove line 7which functions as a hinge so that the flap comprises what can be termeda cut portion 8 which is glued to the top surface of the insertedclosure 2 and a cut portion 9 which is adapted to be raised whendischarge is to be effected. Adjacent the cut portion 9 of the flap isan extension 12 delimited by groove lines 10 and 11 and which extension12 is raised when the flap is inserted within the upstanding edges 4 ofthe closure part and is then lowered to embrace and enclose the upperedge of the end wall of the closure and container that is adjacent thedischarge opening 13.

As is shown in Figures 2 and 4 in closed condition, the dischargeopening 13 is covered from beneath by the foil layer 5 and from the topby the cut portion 9 of the flap 6. Since the width of the flap isgreater than the space between the inner side surface of the insertedclosure the cut portion 9 is held in its closed position by frictionalclamping action since it has to be forced into this closed position.

The opening of the container is effected as illustrated in Figure 3 bygrasping the extension 12 and raising the cut portion 9 of the flap soas to expose the discharge aperture 13 following which the foil layer 5is pierced and the contents discharged.

The positioning and shape of the opening 13 adjacent one of the narrowends of the carton is such that on emptying the container the contentsbeing discharged come in contact with only the edge portions 4 of theclosure that were covered by the extension 12 before the flap 6 wasraised, thus ensuring that prior to use the material within thecontainer does not contact any unprotected parts of the container orclosure walls.

Resealable flap 6 is preferably glued to top of end closure 2 beforeclosure is applied to tubular body 1 which means that flap 6 is appliedto the flat lying end closure 2 and both, end closure 2 with flap 6glued-on, are together inserted into tubular body 1.

It is of course clear that while the bottom closure may be an insertedclosure similar to the top closure it is not necessary that the sametype closure be embodied at the bottom.

What is claimed is:

In a sheet material container of the type including a tubular bodyhaving upstanding side walls and an open rim at one end, an insertedclosure panel recessed below said rim and including flanges appliedagainst at least the inner periphery of the rim, a foil layer betweenthe flanges on the panel and the inner periphery of the rim andcompletely underlying said panel, said panel having a completely cut outdispensing opening therein, a resealable flap means overlying at leastthe opening through the panel and an adjacent portion of the panel, saidresealable flap means including two portions separated by a score lineand covering the area of the body panel comprised between the flanges,one portion being adhesively united to the top of the body panel and theother portion constituting a pivotally mounted portion and including afree extension adapted to be gripped during the opening of thecontainer, and said pivotally mounted portion having opposite edgesadapted to make a force-fit engagement with the interior of oppositeflanges of the inserted closure panel so as to be releasably clampedupon the top of the closure panel when the flap means is closed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,241,710 Lowey May 13, 1941 2,465,842 Brooks Mar. 29, 1949 2,493,671Horning Jan. 3, 1950 2,496,043 Farrell Jan. 31, 1950 2,583,211 FlemingJan. 22, 1952 2,665,616 Jungmayr Jan. 12, 1954 2,719,663 Jagenberg Oct.4, 1945

